She stressed that this was a 'purely personal decision'.
Keeping its promise of honouring 'unsung heroes', the government this year honoured with Padma awards several personalities who served the poor, set up free schools and popularised tribal arts globally.
'Ek Do Teen gave me recognition, Aye Mere Humsafar brought emotional depth, Taal Se Taal Mila challenged me musically, Agar Tum Saath Ho connected me with the new generation.' 'Each song came into my life at the right time.'
President Ram Nath Kovind presented Padma awards to 73 individuals, some posthumously, at a ceremony held in the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Monday.
Uttarakhand Police have filed an FIR to identify alleged 'VIPs' in connection with the Ankita Bhandari murder case, following a recommendation for a CBI probe. The FIR was lodged based on a complaint filed by environmentalist Anil Prakash Joshi, highlighting concerns about concealed or destroyed evidence related to an unidentified 'VIP'.
This year's Padma awards took place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on Monday. Mohanlal Viswanathan, Prabhu Deva and Shankar Mahadevan have been conferred with honours. Take a look.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shris.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar said he welcomed the Sports Ministry's decision to recommend Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal's name for the Padma Bhushan.
Eminent scientist R A Mashelkar was on Monday conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, while acclaimed artiste Kamal Haasan and ace shuttler P Gopichand were among the 12 personalities conferred the Padma Bhushan by President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi.
Mary Kom won the Padma Bhushan in 2013 and Padma Shri in 2006.
Veteran actor Mohan Joshi, Dasmodar Ganesh Bapat, who is working towards eradication of leprosy, and L Subadani Devi, Manipur-based weaver, were among those presented with Padma Shri.
The veteran writer said his decision to return the award was not motivated by any personal insult but because of insult to the national language Hindi.
'We met Gulzar sahab at his residence to honour him with the Jnanpith Award. Gulzar sahab's son-in-law Govind Sandhu, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, his wife Rekha, and a few writers were present on this occasion.'
Dr Subhash Kashyap not only enhanced Parliament's image in India and abroad, but also the position of Lok Sabha secretary-general which succeeding secretary-generals have upheld thorough neutrality, objectivity and high degree of professionalism, notes Rup Narayan Das.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday gave away prestigious Padma awards to 89 winners at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
Azad, who was part of the group of 23 which has been critical of the party leadership and has sought an organisational overhaul, has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to public affairs.
Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir, actor Manoj Bajpayee, mountaineer Bachendri Pal, ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan and Odisha tea seller D Prakash Rao were among the recipients of the honour.
President A P J Abdul Kalam presented the awards at a function at the Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.\n\n
"I am deeply honoured and humbled. I am absolutely delighted to be in the company of people with extraordinary achievements," Zakaria told PTI after the Indian government nominated him for the prestigious Padma Bhushan awards. Zakaria said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves enormous credit for having moved India towards the path of greater degree of comfort and strategic insight.
Noted physicist Yash Pal and space scientist Roddam Narasimha were among those chosen for this year's second highest civilian honour of Padma Vibhushan while yesteryear cine stars late Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Rahul Dravid were selected for Padma Bhushan.
This year, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been conferred Padma Vibhushan for his achievement in the field of public affairs.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday conferred the Padma awards on several eminent personalities including industrialist Adi Godrej, Olympic medal winners Yogeshwar Dutt and Vijay Kumar, actor Nana Patekar and designer Ritu Kumar.
Sukanya Verma raises a toast to the amazing Alka Yagnik's solo song supremacy.
Industry greats like Ratan Tata, Lakshmi Mittal, Narayana Murthy and P R S Oberoi have been nominated for this years Padma Vibhushan.
President Pratibha Patil has approved the conferment of Padma Awards 2012. This year the president has approved 109 awards including one duo case (counted as one) and 14 in the category of foreigners/non-resident Indians/ Persons of India Origin/ posthumous. These comprise five Padma Vibhushan, 27 Padma Bhushan and 77 Padma Shri Awards. There are 19 ladies among the awardees.
Does the fact that Olympic medallists Sushil Kumar and Vijender Kumar were overlooked raise questions about the fairness of the selection process? Do Bollywood stars like Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai deserve Padma Shris, considering the foremost criterion for the award is public service? Have the awards become irrelevant?
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a veiled dig at Azad who was conferred with the award.
Elated for being selected for the prestigious Padma Bhushan awards by the Indian government, noted hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal on Tuesday said it was the recognition of his services in working towards strengthening of Indo-US relationship for the past several decades.
Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil, known for his work on the conservation of Western Ghats, has passed away in Pune after a brief illness. He was 83.
The Padma Vibhushan for this year has been awarded to a total of seven prominent personalities, while 16 have been given the Padma Bhushan, 118 have been given the Padma Shri on the 71st Republic Day this year, they said.
Noted scientist R A Mashelkar and yoga guru B K S Iyengar were on Saturday chosen for this year's Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in India, while cine star Kamala Haasan, author Ruskin Bond and late former chief justice J S Verma were selected for the Padma Bhushan.
Deputy leader of the opposition in Parliament Gopinath Munde told rediff.com he would seek the help of Right to Information Act to find out who was responsible for according the Padma Bhushan Award to non resident Indian hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal.
The list of the prestigious Padma Awards 2016 awardees is out and superstar Rajnikanth is set to be honoured with the nation's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan.
Against the backdrop of US-based hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal getting a Padma Bhushan, the Congress on Tuesday said these awards should be given to people who enhance its prestige and not to those with a "taint".
Folk artist from Chhattisgarh Teejan Bai, Guelleh, Naik and theatre actor from Maharashtra Balwant Moreshwar Purandare will be honoured with Padma Vibushan.
Veteran actor B Saroja Devi passed into the ages on Monday, July 14, in Bengaluru.
To make the process of conferring Padma awards more transparent, the home ministry has issued a revised proforma for people who wish to apply for the prestigious civilian honours.
I think it is best to abolish the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan -- they dilute the value of the Padma Shri, says RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal in an interview to Indulekha Aravind
Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav is among six personalities chosen for this year's Padma Vibhushan.
